THE EVE EDITION
AFTERGLOW | SUN OCT 11
Beijing had waited a long time for this. Qinwen Zheng became the first Chinese player to win the China Open singles title on Sunday, and she did it the hard way: a wildcard who needed three sets in each of her first four matches, then beat Mirra Andreeva in straight sets with a home crowd behind her.
The rest of Sunday kept turning late. Princeton found an equalizer with 73 seconds left and beat #1 Northwestern in overtime, Hawi Feysa saved her move for the final mile in Chicago, where Emma Grace Hurley ran the fastest marathon debut by an American woman, Pitt won the last six points to finish a sweep at SMU, and Purdue rallied from a goal down against #2 Michigan State. Overnight, the season’s last WTA 1000 opened in Wuhan with Leylah Fernandez outlasting Ekaterina Alexandrova and Clara Tauson retiring on the first night. Texas Tech stayed unbeaten in soccer and Duke won a field hockey shootout at Cal.
Zheng Makes China Open History
Qinwen Zheng became the first Chinese singles champion at the China Open on Sunday, beating #4 seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 as a wildcard. Andreeva broke for 2-0 and held three set points, but Zheng won the opening set’s final 11 points, broke again in the ninth game of the second and finished with an ace after one hour, 43 minutes. It was her first WTA 1000 title, the sixth of her career and her first since Tokyo in 2024. Andreeva, in her fifth final of the season after titles at Roland Garros, Adelaide and Linz, was projected to rise to #3 on Monday, while Zheng was projected back inside the top 30 after falling to #160 in June.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani took the doubles final 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes, handing top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Shuai Zhang their first loss as a team this season and ending their 13-match winning streak. It was the fifth title of the year for Dabrowski and Stefani.
Feysa Defends Chicago Title
Hawi Feysa defended her Chicago Marathon title in 2:13:33, pulling away from Sharon Lokedi in the final mile to win by 34 seconds. Lokedi, the Boston champion in 2025 and 2026, finished in 2:14:07 and Tokyo winner Brigid Kosgei was third in 2:14:55 after a seven-woman pack opened at 2:11 pace.
Emma Grace Hurley ran 2:20:47 in seventh, the fastest marathon debut by an American woman, one place behind Isobel Batt-Doyle’s Australian record of 2:20:38. Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner won the wheelchair race in 1:33:16, a world record by one minute.
Princeton Stuns Top-Ranked Northwestern
#10 Princeton beat #1 Northwestern 2-1 in overtime on a rain-soaked Bedford Field, ending the reigning NCAA champion’s 23-game winning streak. Kerry McCormick put the Wildcats ahead at 41:19, but Princeton pulled goalkeeper Olivia Caponiti with 2:20 left and Pru Lindsey converted a penalty stroke with 73 seconds remaining. Lindsey then set up Ella Cashman’s winner off an overtime penalty corner, reversing last year’s double-overtime national final.
#3 Duke needed the same kind of rescue at #14 California. Cal scored twice in four minutes to take a late lead, but Duke pulled goalkeeper Kaiya Chepow and Julia Boehringer converted a penalty stroke with 32 seconds left. The Blue Devils won the shootout 3-2 after outshooting Cal 21-3, and Alaina McVeigh’s earlier goal was the 51st of her career.
Purdue Upsets Michigan State
Purdue gave up a goal inside two minutes to #2 Michigan State and still won 2-1. Emilia Deppe equalized at 7:52, Irene Campo converted a 47th-minute penalty, and goalkeeper Grace Miller made four of her six saves after halftime as the Spartans outshot Purdue 6-1 the rest of the way. The Boilermakers moved to 12-1-2 and 6-1-1 in the Big Ten.
#14 Virginia’s 5-1 win at SMU was closer than the score. Aubrey Brown saved a penalty and Kaylee Noble pulled SMU within a goal 37 seconds after halftime before the Cavaliers scored three times in less than six minutes late. #12 Texas Tech stayed unbeaten at 9-0-4 on Kylie Bahr’s goal at TCU, and #21 Michigan beat Wisconsin 1-0 behind six saves from Malia Zillman.
Pitt Returns the Favor at SMU
Four days after SMU ended Pitt’s 58-match home winning streak, #2 Pitt went on the road and ended the Mustangs’ own 15-match home run, sweeping #6 SMU 25-12, 25-21, 26-24. Trailing 20-24 in the third, the Panthers won six straight points. Olivia Babcock had 20 kills on .567 hitting with five blocks, and Abbey Emch’s nine blocks anchored a 13-block night.
Arkansas, winless in the SEC coming in, beat #12 Texas A&M in four after the Aggies led the fourth set 9-5. Brooklyn DeLeye tied Eleanor Beavin’s Kentucky career record with her 119th ace as the #4 Wildcats beat Ole Miss, and Minnesota’s Mckenna Wucherer reached 1,000 career kills in a sweep of Ohio State.
Fernandez Outlasts Alexandrova in Wuhan
Leylah Fernandez had lost three of four meetings with Ekaterina Alexandrova, but the Singapore champion took the deciding set this time, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 as the Wuhan main draw opened overnight. Clara Tauson, who has fought a back injury this season, retired trailing Marie Bouzkova 6-1, 2-0.
#15 Jasmine Paolini dropped seven games against Sara Bejlek, Maria Sakkari beat Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to earn a meeting with #8 Marta Kostyuk, and Catherine McNally recovered from losing the first set 6-2 to beat Yuliia Starodubtseva in a third-set finish.
LAST LIGHT
Pitt and SMU are level at 5-1 in the ACC after a week of road wins, and Princeton has beaten #1 Northwestern in each of the last two regular seasons, handing the Wildcats both of their most recent losses. Texas Tech is still unbeaten at 9-0-4 and remains the team to catch in the Big 12.
In Wuhan, Maria Sakkari meets #8 Marta Kostyuk next, and three-time champion Aryna Sabalenka opens in the second round chasing her first title since March. Canada says goodbye to Allysha Chapman against Denmark this afternoon, the USWNT gets its rematch with Spain on Tuesday in Chester, and the WNBA Finals between Golden State and Atlanta open Saturday at Chase Center.